Bitmine Immersion Technologies has completed the transfer of nearly 9,600 ETH, worth approximately $19.5 million, to Coinbase Prime hot wallets. This move occurred on Tuesday and took place in two separate transactions, as revealed by on-chain data from Arkham.
The first transaction involved 5,300 ETH, approximately valued at $10.75 million, followed by a second transfer of 4,308 ETH, valued at around $8.74 million. Notably, both transactions were directed through an intermediate wallet prior to reaching Coinbase Prime, a common practice for institutional custody operations.
These substantial transfers have drawn attention, as large on-chain movements often raise concerns among investors regarding potential sell-offs. However, in this instance, it is unlikely that Bitmine is preparing to sell. Coinbase Prime serves as an institutional platform designed for custody, staking, collateral management, and over-the-counter trading, which indicates that these transfers may not signal an impending sale.
The timing of the transactions is particularly interesting, occurring just after Bitmine disclosed its largest weekly purchase of ETH in 2026, which totaled 60,976 ETH. With this latest acquisition, Bitmine”s total ETH holdings have surpassed 4.5 million tokens.
Chairman Thomas Lee has expressed a bullish outlook, indicating that the company is capitalizing on what it believes are the later stages of a “mini-crypto winter.” This suggests that Bitmine views current market prices as an advantageous buying opportunity rather than a reason to divest.
The value of Bitmine”s ETH portfolio has experienced a significant decline, dropping from approximately $16 billion at its peak in October 2024 to about $2.25 billion now. This decrease is closely correlated with the overall decline in ETH”s price rather than a result of active selling by the firm. Currently, Bitmine is facing unrealized losses estimated at $7.8 billion, reflecting broader market trends rather than a shift in their investment strategy.
At the time of this report, the price of ETH was trading at $2,042, having increased by 2.8% on that day.
Understanding the function of Coinbase Prime is essential, as it offers services tailored for institutional clients, including custody, lending, and facilitating large trades away from public order books. Transferring ETH to this platform provides Bitmine with the flexibility to manage its assets efficiently, whether for staking yields or collateral management.
While there has been no public statement from Bitmine regarding the specific reason for the transfer, their ongoing strategy of accumulating ETH remains clear. The two transactions on Tuesday, totaling $19.5 million in ETH, reflect the activities of the largest publicly known holder of ether.
